Followers

Google+ Followers

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

June 1 - Physicists spot shape-shifting neutrinos‏

Physicists spot shape-shifting neutrinos

Tuesday, 1 June 2010

Agence France-Presse

In the 1960s, scientists discovered the 'solar neutrino problem': fewer neutrinos were reaching Earth than their solar models predicted.

Credit: NASA

PARIS: Scientists in Italy are 98% certain that they observed 'neutrino oscillation', a phenomenon that proves the mysterious sub-atomic particles have mass and will modify the Standard Model of Physics.

The finding could have major implications for our understanding of matter in the universe, the researchers said.

For decades physicists had observed that fewer neutrinos - the most common particle in the universe, which is electrically neutral and travels close to the speed of light - arrived at Earth from the Sun than solar models predicted. This was dubbed the 'Solar Neutrino Problem'.

Now you see it, now you don't

That meant one of two things: either the models were wrong, or something was happening to the neutrinos along the way.

At least one variety called a muon-neutrino was actually seen to disappear, lending credence to a Nobel-winning 1969 hypothesis that the minuscule particles were shape-shifting into a new and unseen form.

Now scientists at Italy's National Institute for Nuclear Physics have for the first time observed - with 98% certainty - what they change into during a process called neutrino oscillation: another type of particle known as tau.

Neutrinos have mass

"This will be the long-awaited proof of this process. It was a missing piece of the puzzle," said Antonio Ereditato, a researcher at the Institute and spokesman for the OPERA group that carried out the study.

"If true, it means that new physics will be required to explain this fact," he said by phone.

Under the prevailing Standard Model, neutrinos cannot have mass. But the new experiments prove that they do.

The nature of dark matter

One implication is the existence of other, as yet unobserved types of neutrinos that could help clarify the nature of Dark Matter, which is believed to make up about 25% of the universe.

"Whatever exists in the infinitely small always has repercussions in the infinitely big," Ereditato said.

"A model which could explain why the neutrino is so small without vanishing will have profound implications for the understanding of our universe - how it was, how it evolved, and how it will eventually die."

The transformation of the neutrino occurred during a programmed journey from Geneva to the Gran Sasso Laboratory near L'Aquila in central Italy.

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) provided a laser-like beam composed of billions upon billions of muon neutrinos that took only 2.4 milliseconds to make the 730-kilometer (453-mile) trip.

Four years of watching

The rarity of neutrino oscillation, coupled with the fact that the particles interact only weakly with matter, bedevilled the scientists.

Unlike charged particles, neutrinos are not sensitive to the electromagnetic field normally used by physicists to bend the trajectory of particle beams.

They can also pass through matter, and thus keep the same direction of motion from their inception.

It took nearly four years from the time the beam was switched on to witness the muon-to-tau metamorphosis.

MUFON

Stabilize the camera on a tripod. If there is no tripod, then set it on top of a stable, flat surface. If that is not possible lean against a wall to stabilize your body and prevent the camera from filming in a shaky, unsteady manner.

Provide visual reference points for comparison. This includes the horizon, treetops, lampposts, houses, and geographical landmarks (i.e., Horsetooth Reservoir, Mt. Adams, etc.) Provide this in the video whenever is appropriate and doesn’t detract from what your focus is, the UFO.

Narrate your videotape. Provide details of the date, time, location, and direction (N,S,E,W) you are looking in. Provide your observations on the weather, including approximate temperature, windspeed, any visible cloud cover or noticeable weather anomalies or events. Narrate on the shape, size, color, movements, approximate altitude of the UFO, etc and what it appears to be doing. Also include any unusual physical, psychological or emotional sensations you might have. Narrate any visual reference points on camera so they correlate with what the viewer will see, and thereby will be better able to understand.

Be persistent and consistent. Return to the scene to videotape and record at this same location. If you have been successful once, the UFO sightings may be occurring in this region regularly, perhaps for specific reasons unknown, and you may be successful again. You may also wish to return to the same location at a different time of day (daylight hours) for better orientation and reference. Film just a minute or two under “normal” circumstances for comparison. Write down what you remember immediately after. As soon as you are done recording the experience/event, immediately write down your impressions, memories, thoughts, emotions, etc. so it is on the record in writing. If there were other witnesses, have them independently record their own impressions, thoughts, etc. Include in this exercise any drawings, sketches, or diagrams. Make sure you date and sign your documentation.

Always be prepared. Have a digital camera or better yet a video camera with you, charged and ready to go, at all times. Make sure you know how to use your camera (and your cell phone video/photo camera) quickly and properly. These events can occur suddenly, unexpectedly, and often quite randomly, so you will need to be prepared.